Chapter 2: The Original

Any form of artistic material (ie. paintings, poems, plays, street performances, etc.) must not make any reference to the following:

1) The Dai Li

2) Our Glorious Earth King (past or present)

Artistic material may be seized by the Dai Li at any time if there is concern that such material would be harmful to Ba Sing Se citizens.

-Dai Li Ordinance #533

The overpowering smell of yeast was beginning to give Jin a headache. That her dough refused to stop springing back was not helping.

"You must let it rest for longer, Jin." Her mother came into the back of the bakery after hearing her daughter's frustrated groan all the way from the front of the shop. "Good bread takes patience."

"Yes, Mama." Jin's reply had the slightest hint of sass to it, but her mother said nothing so she continued. "It's only a few hours until sundown, may I be excused? Gun-Su said he'd take me to The Caravans tonight." She wiped out a bit of flour stuck to her sleeve only to leave an even bigger spot behind with flour caked hands.

At the sound of the shop's door opening, her mother turned to see her new customer before waving Jin away. "Go, but wash up first!"

"Thank you, Mama." Jin called out, already halfway out the backdoor.

Located in the always busy Mien Marketplace, her mother's bakery never stayed empty for long. Unfortunately for Jin, that meant every other weekend she had to help out at the shop. Even worse was the fact that she was no good at baking.

Jin took after her father, her hands were fast and nimble. Her mother's were like a pair of badgermoles: blind, but extremely strong. It was with those hands that her mother rose from the slums of the Pinik District all the way to owning one of the most famous bakeries in the entire Lower Ring.

This afforded Jin's family relative comfort. Despite the terrible reputation of the Lower Ring, not all buildings there were crumbling straw shacks. True, her house could not compare to those found in the Middle Ring and was entirely dwarfed by the mansions in the Upper Ring, but they were much better off than most of Jin's friends.

One of these relative comforts was that she had her own room and the house even had its own bathroom. Most Lower Ring citizens were forced to use communal bath houses as the brilliant minds behind the city decided it would be a great way to save space. Those "geniuses" probably didn't think it would smell quite so awful though.

After pushing and shoving her way through the throng of people rushing to one shop or the other, Jin got back home and was in the bath in a flash. Not even bothering to heat up the water, she scrubbed herself in record time and was changing into her favorite pale green dress before long. Only bothering with a simple ponytail, she smiled at her appearance in the mirror before going to her room to grab her sketchbook. Sitting atop her faithful companion was a note.

Sorry Little Sparrow, got called onto the base. Won't be able to make it tonight.

Jin's face dropped after she read her brother's message. The Caravans only came by the Lower Ring once every few years and this might be her last shot to see them before they left. She'd be much too busy with school to go see them during the week and they never stayed in one location for long. One of her many inspirations, The Caravans were a travelling group of artists who went all across the Earth Kingdom sharing their gifts with everyone.

There was no way Jin could go by herself, the group had set up in the Panqu District which was over an hour away by train. Her parents would never let her go that far by herself.

With a heavy sigh and a dramatic flop onto her bed, Jin opened her sketch book and began flipping through it. Tonight, she was supposed to buy her first actual canvas; she'd been saving money for what felt like forever and finally had enough.

After setting the book down, Jin was hit by inspiration quite literally. Light coming in through the window partially blinding her reminded Jin that with winter finally over, the Macu birds would be returning to Ba Sing Se.

The disappointment in her previous plans dissipated quickly as she took the stairs two at a time and was out her front door, sketchbook in hand. The Macu bird loved feeding off worms so Jin ran to the closest park to her house, Grand Crystals Park.

When she finally arrived at the small park, a rare sight was indeed awaiting her. One boy was pinned by three others while a fourth was just about to bring his fist down on the helpless boy. There were also two others that looked close to joining in soon.

"Get off of him!" Jin surprised herself with how forceful her voice sounded. All eyes were suddenly on her and she realized she recognized all of them but the helpless boy.

"Stay out of this, Jin!" Hu-Tor shot her a glare, although the menacing effect it was meant to have was not very effective. His nose was bleeding profusely and with each word his crooked nostrils made a whistling noise.

Not so helpless after all, Jin thought to herself with a sly smile at the pinned boy. Deciding to push her luck, Jin found that same forceful voice and continued. "I wonder what Headmaster Kaepor would say if he found out you were picking fights. Remind me Hu-Tor, who was close to getting suspended for cheating on last month's exams?"

Any response he may have had died with Jin's words. Suspensions went on your permanent file as a demerit and after only three of those you would no longer be permitted to attend any school. Options were limited to those who did graduate, Jin couldn't imagine what life would be like without a schooling certificate.

One unintelligible grunt of command later and Hu-Tor led his lackeys out of the park. Jin gave their backs a crooked look for a second before rushing to help the still lying down boy.

"Ow." He closed his eyes in pain after Jin accidentally placed a hand to his injured ribs in her eagerness.

"Sorry!" Jin replied with a gasp. "Can I help you sit up?"

The boy gave her a dismissive wave before struggling to his knees. "Ouch." He wheezed out.

"Yeah, cause that was so much easier." Jin's sarcastic reply saw him frowning.

The frown broke and the boy pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm sorry. Thank you for getting me out of that."

"You're welcome." Jin smiled at him and offered her hand which he shook after a moment. "I'm Jin."

"Lee."

"Creative parents, huh?" Her wit and smile showed she was kidding around. "Are you new around here? I haven't seen you before."

For the briefest moment, Jin thought she saw pain behind his gorgeous golden eyes, but then he gave a small smile and the moment passed. Lee certainly did not look like the typical Lower Ring boy she had come to expect. Boys her age were almost certainly covered in dirt and had messy brown hair; Lee was pale and his hair was black as night.

"Yes." Lee said in answer to her question. He was very deliberate with his speech as well.

Jin was never one to be deterred from meeting new people no matter what though. "Are you going to be attending Jieben School?" He looked puzzled for a brief second before nodding. "Me too! Who's your teacher?"

"Uhh…" Lee looked around nervously, not used to this kind of attention from a kid his own age.

"Well… how old are you?" Jin tried another approach.

"Ten."

"Me too!" She repeated in that same excited tone. "That means we'll be in the same class; I'll show you around tomorrow. Now come on, let's get you home."

He bowed his head like she was some kind of highborn lady and she resisted the urge to giggle. "Thank you, Jin. That will be unnecessary however, I can find my own way home."

"The Lower Ring can be confusing to first timers. I don't want you getting lost, now come on." Not taking no for an answer, Jin was already on her feet and tugging at Lee's hands.

He was unsure why he went along with it, especially considering his house was literally just down the street, but he didn't want to disappoint the first person who had shown him kindness in the Lower Ring. Lee nodded in confirmation and Jin began dragging him down the street.

"That shop has the best hats!"

"That building over there is where you get your papers stamped to go between rings."

"I saw an escaped tigerdillo down that alley once!"

Jin seemed to have a tidbit about every single nondescript location that they passed. It wasn't until she had just finished telling Lee about the nearby train station that she realized with embarrassment that she had no idea where Lee lived.

"Um, where is your house?" Jin asked with a sheepish grin.

Lee looked at her with quite a bewildered stare, she might have been the strangest and most friendly girl he'd ever met. He pointed to his house which was just a few buildings down. "Right there."

Before Lee even realized what was happening, Jin had bounded up to the door with a joyful skip and knocked at the front door.

"Jin!" He hissed when he caught up to her. "What are you-"

The front door swung open before he could finish his sentence. In the doorway stood his father with the world's must amused smile.

"Oh! I did not realize my son would make friends with such a pretty girl so quickly." Lee's father said, bringing about a groan of embarrassment from Lee.

"Thank you, Sir. I was just helping Lee find his way back home." Jin's reverenced tone surprised Lee who found himself gawking at her. He clearly did not expect that kind of tonal shift in the chatterbox of a girl who had just been talking his ear off.

"Thank you, Miss?"

"Jin." She said with a small bow.

"Well, Miss Jin, I was just about to put dinner on the table if you'd like to join us."

Jin smirked after seeing Lee's eyes widen in response to his father's invitation. "I'd love to."

Lee's father grinned before gesturing them both to come inside. She almost got through the threshold when a tug on her arm kept her back.

"Don't tell my father about what happened earlier." Lee's message may have sounded like a threat, but he was looking at her with pleading eyes that told a different story.

Jin chewed on her lip nervously before nodding. Lying to adults was never exactly her strong suit. "Ok, but you have to promise not to get into anymore fights. I wasn't joking, fighting will get you suspended really fast."

Lee looked inside before sighing. "I won't."

Jin flashed a toothy smile before heading inside the house. It was modest, definitely not the best nor the worst house she had seen in the Lower Ring. All the signs of a family having just moved in were still present: no decorations on any walls, furniture not having any time to accumulate dust and many items still sat on the floor waiting to find a new space.

It was when she walked into the kitchen that she spotted it. There was no mistaking that style; no other artist could come close to emulating it.

Jin swallowed the lump in her throat. "Is that… a Rui Yishu work?" She pointed at the framed canvas leaning against the wall waiting to be hanged.

Rui Yishu was the reason Jin had dedicated her being to art. As a special treat for her eighth birthday her father had taken her to a museum in the Upper Ring. While that may not sound like every eight-year old's dream birthday, Jin had always liked doodling so her father wished to show her some of the best art in all of Ba Sing Se. It was there that she saw Yishu's most famous ink wash painting, Man Brings Life. She fell in love with it instantly and would have stared at it all day if not for her father forcing her to see more of the museum. For the past two years Jin gathered every bit of information she could to better study the man's style.

"Good eye, Jin." Lee's father chuckled as he leaned down to pick up the painting. "Tell me, how did you recognize it was one of Yishu's?"

Lee rolled his eyes, although Jin could not figure out why. Perhaps he just didn't care much for art.

Jin tapped on her chin as she studied the painting closer. It depicted a crying woman sat in front of a fire; her long flowing hair being blown gently by unseen wind. "Well… the shading on her hair was the biggest giveaway. Only Yishu can achieve such detail without overindulging in ink. And there at the base of the fire, there is his signature use of just a bit of color. It's always so subtle, but the effect is incredible. I can feel the warmth radiating from it."

"Very good, Jin. You must be a talented artist to be able to pick up on such things." Lee's father complimented her.

"I thank you, Sir, but I merely sketch." Jin bowed deeply at the compliment. "Although, I do hope to attend Ba Sing Se University one day and become an artist."

"A girl with great ambition."

Jin's cheeks flushed at the praise. "Um… forgive me, Sir, I do not wish to insult you, but how did you get one of Jishu's pieces? I've only seen them in the Upper Ring."

"Ah," Lee's father began with a mischievous smile. "That's a very simple explanation. I am Rui Yishu."

Jin gaped at the man in wonder. All intelligible thoughts left her brain as she looked wide eyed between the painting, Lee, and his apparently famous artist father. "Uhhh…I-I…uh." Before she could embarrass herself further, Jin lowered her head in another bow. "It is a great honor to meet you, Master Yishu." She managed to squeak out weakly.

Rui placed a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Please Jin, there is no need for that. Call me Rui."

"Um, ok." She glanced around the kitchen; her feet suddenly made of stone. "I can't believe I'm standing in Rui Yishu's home."

Lee groaned while his father merely chuckled. Before Jin could gush any longer, Lee decided to interject. "You two can talk about how much Jin loves you later, I'm starving."

Rui remembered his original intent and after setting the painting back down, led Jin to sit at the table. With the slightest shake of his fingers, he served both kids a simple dish of rice and fish before sitting down himself and indulging Jin's many questions about his art.